Lived Experience Forum

[Mariel]

Has anyone ever been in a place where a BPD diagnosis ("quiet' for me if at all) comes with such stigma and shame that it feels like a death sentence? Where even friends who are also progressive mental health professionals admit to caution and judgement based on the BPD label? It almost becomes a self fulfilling prophecy in terms of ideation and isolation. Sorry for the negativity...

[EternalFlower]

Hi @Mariel yes.

I think it's very unfortunate that there are ppl who use this diagnosis against vulnerable ppl

Particularly women, particularly young women, and particularly trauma survivors

Not sure if that is Ur situation, but I'd guess Ur Def not imagining it.

It's real and a huge problem for many ppl in the healthcare system. That diagnosis can do more damage than good

But I believe there is a movement now of ppl taking back their power. I don't have bpd but do have a personality disorder / complex ptsd and I feel like it validates the extent of the trauma I've been through 

 But I've Also had it used against  me by unethical practitioners

[NatureLover]

Hi and welcome, @Mariel , it's good you've joined, where people can understand what you're going through.

I don't have BPD, but I'm going to tag @tyme who has great experience and insight into it. (They may be away for the weekend)

What does the word "quiet" mean in conjunction with BPD? 

A handy forum tip is if you type @ and then click on a name in the drop-down box, that person will get a notification and won't miss your reply. 

I hope you find the forums supportive.

[Bow]

Hi @Mariel  welcome to the forums firstly, hope you find what you are looking for here. 

i had a diagnosis of BPD 16+ yrs or so ago and very much felt like there was a stigma attached to it. Especially in the emergency department or amongst no mental health treating professionals. Felt like I was a nuisance, and just got in the way. I had 10+yrs oh good mental health, with no meds, no health professionals involved. But here I am again, and I don’t believe I have BPD anymore, but due to my history they always bring it up, which I believe interferes with my treatment now. 
hopefully @tyme has some helpful advice 

[Judi9877]

Hi @Mariel and welcome to the forums. I’m a Community Guide here and I have BPD as one of my diagnoses with schizophrenia and depression being the other 2 mental health conditions that I have. 

As for BPD, I have found there to be lots of stigma around the condition from health professionals and that’s not necessarily a good thing. As for the shame thing, I’ve experienced that as well with certain episodes causing me to feel shame on lots of occasions. On the positive side, there are lots of good things about BPD and one of those I’d like to say is you can recover from it. It’s about managing your condition and taking care of yourself and your relationships which can be hard at times. The diagnosis isn’t nice I admit but deep down, you are still a person who has value and worth and great qualities in which to offer the people in the world who you care about and that’s an important thing to remember. The diagnosis is really only important to medical professionals and I try to remind myself that I’m a collection of symptoms that just happen to make up this medical illness and that I’m more than them. I’m a person who has needs and wants and desires but with whom their emotions just happen to get in the way of these things and I have to accept this. Deep down, you are a special and unique person and that’s important to remember, no matter what other people say about you.

Again, I’ll tag @tyme who might have some more advice regarding this topic. 

Take care and stay safe.

Judi9877☺️💐